Candy Spelling Officially Asks for $150,000,000

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Fetch yer nerve pills, pour a tall gin and tonic and hold on to your britches children, because Candy Spelling's 123-room Holmby Hills monster mansion has officially and finally hit the open market with a knee buckling and record breaking asking price of $150,000,000.

Although records we accessed show a purchase date in December of 1991, a recent report in The Wall Street Journal states that Missus Spelling and her now deceased boob-toob producer huzband Aaron Spelling purchased the approximately 5 acre property on swish S. Mapleton Drive in the early 1980s. We're gonna believe the Wall Street Journal, but whatever the case, the couple proceeded to raze the former home of the legendary Bing Crosby and erect a massive, multi-winged monument to their wealth which they called The Manor.

Records on file with the County of Los Angeles show The Widow Spelling's hotel-sized house measures in at 52,503 square feet with 11 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. However, those numbers are somewhat in dispute as The Wall Street Journal puts the residential beast at 57,000 square feet and during a televised interview and tour of her palatial pile poor Candy Darling herself couldn't remember if her huge house has 23 or 26 bathrooms. It would seem that only the terlit staff knows precisely how many poopers are on the property.

Some of the only in a mega-mansion features of The Manor include the bowling alley in the basement, a beauty parlor and a barber shop in the 17,000 square foot attic, a gift wrapping room, doll museum, a home gym, a wine cellar and wine tasting room, a humidity-controlled silver storage room, a room just for the China, and a leviathan living room that does double duty as a screening room where the screen rises up out of the floor.

The fastidiously maintained and gated grounds include a major motor court with a spitting fountain in the center, covered parking for a fleet of fancy automobiles, meandering pathways that circle the property, formal gardens including a rooftop rose garden, a swimming pool and spa complex and a tennis court which we like to imagine Miz Spelling has never even seen let alone used.

Miz Spelling's attorney Stephen Goldberg told The Wall Street Journal that ever since his client announced she coughed up a staggering $47,000,000 for a yet to be completed 16,000 square foot doo-plex penthouse in Century City, the wildly rich widow has had about 12 calls from interested and qualified buyers.

Your Mama assumes these calls and queries are coming from the same dozen or so qualified buyers that have peeped and poked around the insanely decadent rooms of Suzanne Saperstein's $125,000,000 Holmby Hills behemoth for which it is rather bizarrely rumored that scantily clad superstar Mariah Carey has made an offer. We don't believe it, but that's another story.

Anyhoo, only time will tell how long it will take for The Widow Spelling to unload her big house, at what price and to which bizness baron, mogul, magnate or foreign potentate. If the ladee gets anywhere near the $150,000,000 asking price it will most certainly set a record for the largest amount of money paid for a single family residence in the United States.

Miz Spelling is still trying to sell both of the homes she owns in the gated Century Woods community which lies in the shadows of the towers of Century City. One is an 8,424 square foot Faux-Tuscan sitting on a double lot with 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and an asking price of $7,895,000 and the other a quasi-French farmhouse sort of thing measuring 4,843 square feet with 5 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms and an asking price of $4,795,000.

165 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Too bad her timing is a bit off, to afford something like this--you really have to be worth a billion or more, and even if you had cash like this, many nowadays really don't want to live like this--80's excess--I think many of these homes will fall into somewhat disrepair like those homes of the gilded age did. Better to own 10 10 million dollar houses--easier to sell etc. as there is not much market for these rare monstrocities (sic).

I am torn about this house. On one hand it's SO ugly. It's huge and tasteless and gross. Industrial EXIT signs are in some of the hallways due to fire codes. The rooms are terribly over scaled. I really just would never in a million years ever want to live in something like it.

And yet, it was the house that Dynasty, Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Beverly Hills 90210, TJ Hooker and Melrose Place built. It was Aaron Spelling's house and I LOVE me some Aaron Spelling television. If you ask me, his vision for television (escapist fun) was wonderful.

Now, from what I hear, Candy is a piece of work. But, so is Tori. And Randy. Really, the only Spelling that is pretty much liked by most everyone was Aaron. Thus, since he's gone, I hope Candy realizes that her ridiculous asking price is not going to make her any friends and that whoever buys it levels it.

This is the BEST thing I've ever read about The Spelling Mansion. But... you made no mention of the eBay room, where eBay user TakeTheCandyBaby packs and ships items obtained at the 99 Cent Only store to happy eBay auction winners from around the Continental United States Only.

Of course, with the sheer number of rooms in this joint, you can't list all of them. Super duper job, though!

Thanks, Mama! This is the BIG story so many of us have been waiting for. I'm settling in with a few cocktails and a couple of nerve pills to watch the unfolding saga of Candy's Big Hot Mess. This could be the best show to ever come out of The Spelling dynasty!

While the home is beautiful on the outside, it's age shows on the inside. The decorations are ugly. No new money will want that! Why would anyone buy a mansion for that much money?! Will they ever make money on it?! NO!

I've heard the Spelling estate is "around the corner" or at least near the Playboy Mansion--is that correct? If so, even if someone had $150-million, would they really want to spend that kind of money and be near the Playboy Mansion? Does anyone have any idea why Candy Spelling owns the two houses in Century City?

Obviously I've never been in the house, thus have NO idea what the floorplan is like, but from the aerial view Mama has posted, it seems like the swimming pool is in a very odd location. Am I missing something here or wouldn't it have made more sense for it to have been placed the the true backyard--the huge open area at the back of the house?

8:58 - Assuming you aren't trolling to restart the whole Playboy Mansion bashing thread....yes, the Playboy Mansion and the Spelling Manor are in the same neighborhood. With the size of the properties and the topography of the area, "around the corner" is a relative term. They might as well be on opposite coasts.

Anon 9:29AM--Thanks for clarifying this. And believe me, there was NO way I was wanting to restart the whole Playboy Mansion bashing--sorry if it appeared that way. I was just trying to get a feeling for the proximity of the two estates to each other.

A living room that does double duty as a screening room? Why on earth does a house this size need anything that does double duty as something else?

Viva!: You are so right. It's been my experience that nobody buys L.A. real estate without leveling it or at least remodelling it beyond recognition. There is no house that doesn't need a complete makeover, including brand-new construction. The new owner has to leave their mark. It's like a dog peeing against a tree. It's just something they gotta do.

But as long as Candy gets her money, I'll bet she won't give a damn if they level it or not.

Mama, about that 1991 / 1980s purchase date -- today's SF Comicle has an AP feed article that says the house was built in 1991. The property might've been bought much earlier than that & sat waiting for the house plans to arrive at the perfection we see here.

Let's get this straight. Proceeding north on S. Mapleton from Candy's main gate, there are exactly three properties before the Kimberly Hefner house that was listed recently. Next to that, of course, is the Playboy Mansion. Not only are the two houses in the same neighborhood, they are for all intents and purposes on the same block. What that's worth is for someone else to decide.

theyre on the same street(mapleton)..maybe 400-600ft apart...anyway the properties are huge and that street is the most prized st in holmby hills...not many homes on it and they are all palaces...mega,mega rich.

Anybody who buys this house better be ready for a lot of sniffing around by the World Media. Everybody is going to want to know where the money came from and who would be paying that kind of money today. Best of Luck......

As the listing agent said when quiestioned whether she would reduce the price do the the market....

"The people who could afford this type of house a year or two ago, still can today."

While you all think everyone lost everything there still are people out there who can and will buy mega-properties. This house is a lil different than any random house in Bel Air or Beverly Park as it has such a mythic reputation... The Manor... Aaron Spellings mega manse... the largest home in California... etc.

That said, Candy is a complete moron that she didn't just take the money and run when she had an offer in the $100mm range a while back. She probably wasn't all that motivated to sell given she had no new place to move to.

When is her condo slated to be complete? Whoever buys this house will extensively renovate it no doubt. It's amazing (while this house is gross and needs reno's) that rich people never just buy and move in, they almost always extensively remodel.

Candy Spelling's selection of agents to list her $150-million Holmby Hills estate is also mentioned in the Associated Press story:

Spelling_2 Spelling told the Associated Press that she let her dog Madison, a soft-coated Wheaten terrier, help pick out the best real estate agent for the task. She had her security bring the dog into the room every time she met one of the candidate agents and watched how the dog reacted. If Madison didn't like them, Spelling crossed them off the list.

So who passed the sniff test? From the Wall St. Journal:

Sally Forster Jones of Coldwell Banker Previews has the listing together with Jeffrey Hyland and Rick Hilton, both of Hilton & Hyland/Christie's Great Estates.

Hopefully the commissions will make up for knowing they were selected by a terrier.

Methinks Candy could very well be Norma Desmond incarnate...a Parisian Diorama? Are you kidding me? That is fantastic. The Dynasty theme does start up in my head whenever I look at this place. I wonder if we all owe royalties...heehee

Thanks for the Sassoon backups chil'ren...one can dream can't they? Georgica, I believe Drew is gonna slay the part. At first I rolled my eyes when I heard she was Little Edie, but when I saw the previews, I was so relieved! :)

Even if somebody did have that kind of money, don't you children think that it would be simply too conspicuous to buy at a time like this? My god, in France the workers are beginning to take CEO's hostage!

Clearly, Candy has been advised to approach the sale as a roll-out. The move from the pocket listing to the published listing as announced today is being done in conjunction with an interview tonight on ABC 20/20. If she is intent on actually realizing even half of what she is asking then we all know that this will linger on the hilton and hyland website well into the next decade. If she is intent on at some point actually leaving that place behind and moving into her very grand last act duplex, then she may very well be accepting an offer down the line that represents a significant inflation adjusted loss. So be it for her , I'm sure.

And by the way, does anyone actually know whether or not Related made her put a deposit down on the new place? There is a very good chance that she made a deal with them that involved publicity. And even if she has put 10 or 15 percent down, I am sure that she won't spend many sleepless nights if she doesn't close and loses the deposit. It would appear that she has access to huge cash flow, witness the impeccable upkeep of the house. Wouldn't be surprised if her exposure to equities was limited, and thus she hasn't taken a big hit.

I would bet that as a percentage of total purchase, it is not pro forma. She is nothing if not a clever woman. After all, she could have structured the contract to become null and void if there was any publicity about her intent of purchase. It doesn't benefit her at all to publicize it. But she probably did write a check that is still huge in real terms.

what the hell. it's friday night and i'v had a few. time to bring bacl the old rumour:

"just gossip, no facts behind it, but old , i mean old friend says Candy was a "working girl" many decades ago"

I heard that she used to work for madame alex. anybody care? I don't mean to get tacky but not all of us are so easily entertained with all this contractual mumbo jumbo a few of your legal types are tossing about.

It wouldn't surprise me if Candy was a working girl back in the day, she is pure white trash. Nothing is "high society" about her other than her damn check book, thanks to her late husband. She is the sort of woman who Britney Spears aspires to become.

And what is it with that very dysfunctional relationship with the daughter? I have nothing against sex workers, many are highly evolved and empowered people ( and go on to become very well known actors and actresses, and realtors as well) but from my own observations the doll collecting and the insular life that that monster house provided reeks of the pathology of a "rescued" prostitute.

If it were set in the country on 1000 acres with proper landscaping and formal gardens and a glorious view over some magnificent stretch of oceanside or mountain lake it might be okay. As it is, claustrophobically scrunched into a tiny space next to a city golf course, it is a prime example of US stupidity and lack of savoir-vivre.

One of the tabloids published plans of the Spelling place when it was being built. Sadly, I lost them in a move. But the plans were rather vague. They showed what room was where, but didn't indicate dimensions or the positions of doors, windows, or fireplaces.

la reve? are you kidding? no one outside of atlanta knows anything about la reve...plus, it's in a bit of a bad location...not exactly a high end area.

but i get what you're saying...the think is, there are just so few buyers for a house like this, maybe 20 in the world...it's not that there aren't more than 20 than can afford it, but are there much more than 20 who can afford it and want to live (or own something this massive) in LA?

These things are tricky. And keep in mind, the most expensive house ever to transfer in LA was The Knoll (another very famous house) which went for around $50m.

So it seems to me, that Candy might be a little (or even a lot) optimistic on the price.

I love it how anonymous 8:09 just compared the playboy mansion, 'portabello' not potabello, and la reve (-which is a vulgar, theme park looking gaudy, tacky and tasteless oversized/scaled mess of no architectural integrity in the middle of Georgia of all places)to Buckingham palace. How this person thinks these monster mcmansions, designed by architects who say they are faithfully imitating designs of the past(exception of portabello), but are really just creating oversized tract houses with no real architectural merit- very few of these places actually show proper design, that is at all like a real french chateu, or Georgian house etc etc. they are usually just ugly facades of the architects imagination, of what they think a house like this should look like!

I don't see how you can compare these to Buckingham palace, a true castle, and one of the few places in the world where such scale, size, and money is both tasteful, and appropriate. Not to mention the fact that is is hundreds of years old and was built for an entire royal family, not an aging couple with too much money, the need to show people how much they have, and absolutely no taste.

IT s not quite so much the size of these places, as the fact that the people who own them can easily afford to design them properly, furnish them appropriately. And yet they never do they always turn out as beige behemoths that are a tribute to their owners vast egos, and uneducated backgrounds.

One of the few examples of a house designed to this scale successfully is Joyce and Avi Arad's house in Beverly park. The architecture is actually quite authentic, and at the same time embraces the new and does not completely copy the past. It is also to scale wich is apparently harder than you would think, judging by the many architectural messes you see such as the spelling mansion. The interiors are also succesful. They are contempory and parred back, and at the same time reflect influences of the period the building was designed to look like. In other words the designers have not mimicked the past, or completely ignored it. They have understood it, and changed it to reflect modern ideals!Pictures can be found here:-http://www.hablinski-manion.com/gallery.asp?pcid=12291441737089&cid=A%20%20%20Beverly%20Hills%20Residence-http://www.fintonassociates.com/(In the completed projects area)

Why can't all mansions be built with the same consideration, taste, and restraint as this one. As someone who has come from money, and still has it I can not excuse nor understand the need for such vulgar showiness from people who have only recently obtained it. This is why I live in a smaller 15000sq (not that I'm saying 15000sqf is small) foot house with my family, in Beverly Hills. It is large and appropriate for the size of my family, but not too big or just for the sake of it, and it is done over by an international designer who new what they were doing. Just because you can afford a 50 000 sq foot house doesn't mean you have to live in one!

I sorta agree with you anonymous 9:19. I was doubtful bout the 15000sqf commenter. Sounded a little sus to me! then I read his comment again, and i wasn't so sure- maybe he was telling the truth, just something bout the way he wrote the comment made me think that.Just an inkling nothing else.

Regardless of whether he lives in a 15000sqf house (I dont care either way)he did have some very truthful things to say, about all these mega mansions. And the place he linked is quite amazing... deffinetly more tastefull than any mansion ive seen in a long time! I think overall he made some very true very good points. As someone, just begining in their design studies, i agree with alot of what he had to say.

Anon 8:57, you are just full of yourself aren't you.I can tell you are one of those people that think they are the world by the way you write. By the way you knew damn well I meant Portabello and so would any other intelligent person reading this. You are just one of those people that makes your small self feel better.I find it suspect that you need to mention that you come from money, most people that do don't need to mention it. I suspect that you have delusions of grandeur. I grew up quite well off, lived in very large houses have 3 degrees including an MBA and you know what, my neighbor grew up with 7 brothers and sisters in a 2 bedroom house and now he is a Top NBA player that makes $13 million a year and can out buy you, me and I suspect most if not all of your pompous friends. The point of my statement was how the homes were famous in their own right, not whether you and your friends personally liked them or their architecture or pedigree. You are so self absorbed with yourself and your opinions and braggadocio that you can't see past that. I love guys like my neighbor because it kills guys like you. You can't stand that they can buy bigger and better houses than you at 22, they can buy better cars, women love them, especially your daughters. My experience with guys like you are that you are soulless, have no personality, are unable to interact with anyone, especially the opposite sex and other than the vapid wife that you are married to, are forced to resort to the hiring of escorts a la Elliott Spitzer. Am I correct?No money in the world will make you cool. I have a friend who reminds me of you. His family owns a huge advertising firm and have a $25 million home on Ocean in Palm Beach and he drives a Ferrari and he can't talk to or get a woman to save his life. Sad really.Wake up the world is not about you.If you truly live where you live, it must hurt that you are surrounded by new money like actors, athletes, Arab oil men etc.Have a good day.

Anonymous 9.44:I was not trying to put you down when I corrected your spelling of portabello, I was merely referring to it by its real name. In no way was I making fun of you, or trying to make myself sound better.

I believe that I am entitled to my views on these houses, just as you are. What I said was my own personal opinion, and I stand by it. I do not however put it above yours, although I see that this may have come across in my previous comment.As for your comment on me not enjoying myself or being cool.I do not see how you can presume this. I love my life. I have a loving wife and family, and we have alot of fun. I have great friends, from all social circles, and very much enjoy my packed social life. I do not drive a Ferrari, or feel the need to hire escorts. While I may not be quite as 'hip' as you, I do not feel the need to try and be 'cool'. I am myself and have always found it easy to fit in and make friends. I enjoy living in a neighborhood surrounded by different types of people, who have been succesful in their own right. I respect them all, and do not envy a single one of them. People like your neighbor should be an inspiration to us all, who knows he might even be one of my friends- Although dont presume he can out buy me...

The only thing I was trying to say, was that i do not understand why some people live in such large and tasteless homes. I apoligise if this offended you, although may I say that in this area i have the ability to pass judgement, working in the design world myself-with several degrees, and experience. Again, this is just my personal view, but I believe it would be shared by many of the readers on this log.

I regret saying where/how I live etc. This is not something that would usually come out of my mouth- its funny what can be said in a typed rant...I agree it made me sound quite full of myself, or just a liar.

As for anonymous 9.19:Please don't call me a liar. we all make typos... and also i am not posting on an internet blog at 9pm on a friday night. It is saturday afternoon in sydney australia, where i am on business for a new development, and i am between meetings. So i thought i'd catch up on some realestate news from one of my favourite websites- the realestalker!

Well of course, but they are not spread out as if they were meant to be country estates. This is a would be country estate scrunched into a sardine can lot. BTW I am not European. But I am not a stupid American either.

These "modern" homes you all compare are so well knows ( Example: The hideous Portobello house and La Reve ) are not know by anyone who doesn't take an intersted in high end or celebrity real estate. The average person has no clue what either of those troll trophy properties are.

The Manor, a lot of people know of... from the almost mystical like stories of Aaron Spelling and coverage over YEARS. Regaurdless of the classless or tastelessness of the house, it has some merit in the nature of its history and recognition.

That said, Arad's house is GORGEOUS. Looking at this site and others of these McMansion's I usually find them all hideous. Like living in hotels and museums. While I still wouldn't want to live in the Arad's house because its just not my style I can appreciate and very well done classic-yet modern home. And they hit the nail on the head. Shame on the rest of Beverly Park and the hideousness they cram on 2 acres behind faux Tuscan facades.

Yes i agree. The Arad's house is gorgeous!!! Its exactly what a home of this size should be.

Apart from being an asshole by trying to make himself sound so important a lot of what that anonymous poster said was very true.

He basically pinpointed the problem with most of these mega mansions. Oversized monuments of bad taste and design, that reflect badly on the past with no thought of today or the future. The Arad's house shows that they can be carried off...all it takes is a bit of thought!

If you ignore his last self important, self gratifying paragraph anonymous 8:57 was completely right in what he said. The poster clearly new what he was talking about:

Anonymous said...

"I love it how anonymous 8:09 just compared the playboy mansion, 'portabello' not potabello, and la reve (-which is a vulgar, theme park looking gaudy, tacky and tasteless oversized/scaled mess of no architectural integrity in the middle of Georgia of all places)to Buckingham palace. How this person thinks these monster mcmansions, designed by architects who say they are faithfully imitating designs of the past(exception of portabello), but are really just creating oversized tract houses with no real architectural merit- very few of these places actually show proper design, that is at all like a real french chateu, or Georgian house etc etc. they are usually just ugly facades of the architects imagination, of what they think a house like this should look like!

I don't see how you can compare these to Buckingham palace, a true castle, and one of the few places in the world where such scale, size, and money is both tasteful, and appropriate. Not to mention the fact that is is hundreds of years old and was built for an entire royal family, not an aging couple with too much money, the need to show people how much they have, and absolutely no taste.

IT s not quite so much the size of these places, as the fact that the people who own them can easily afford to design them properly, furnish them appropriately. And yet they never do they always turn out as beige behemoths that are a tribute to their owners vast egos, and uneducated backgrounds.

One of the few examples of a house designed to this scale successfully is Joyce and Avi Arad's house in Beverly park. The architecture is actually quite authentic, and at the same time embraces the new and does not completely copy the past. It is also to scale wich is apparently harder than you would think, judging by the many architectural messes you see such as the spelling mansion. The interiors are also succesful. They are contempory and parred back, and at the same time reflect influences of the period the building was designed to look like. In other words the designers have not mimicked the past, or completely ignored it. They have understood it, and changed it to reflect modern ideals! Pictures can be found here: -http://www.hablinski-manion.com/gallery.asp?pcid=12291441737089&cid=A%20%20%20Beverly%20Hills%20Residence -http://www.fintonassociates.com/ (In the completed projects area)

Why can't all mansions be built with the same consideration, taste, and restraint as this one."

Arrogant: yesJudgemental:yesBut Completely True:yes

He said exactly what i feel about most of these massive mansions. And as another poster commented he pinpointed what was wrong with them...

Also the links to the Arads house shows what can be achieved. And that not all mansions have to be tacky and beige! (I love their house by the way!!!)

Just as he said "Why can't all mansions be built with the same consideration, taste, and restraint as this one".

I can certainly understand everyone having thier own opinions about different houses, but I truly don't understand why everyone gets so mad at other's opinions! It's simply that--opinions--not right and not wrong!

I agree with StPaulSnowman, Candy looked pretty stressed out last night. I don't know if this is a Texas law or a federal law, but in Texas there is a law that grants grandparents rights, thus if it's true Candy hasn't ever been allowed to see her youngest grandchild, I would certainly think there was something she could legally do to be able to do so. And with all of her money, all she has to do is hire a private eye to find out where Tori is living--or buy a Map of the Star's Homes!!

Tori sounds like a evil lil girl. Perhaps her childhood wasn't perfect, but whose is? She grew up a rich spoiled brat. No, Candy doesn't really rub me as the lovey dovey type but my take on her is that she means well and does care about Tori and her grand kids. But, Tori has vilanized her and that has to hurt.

One doesn't just LIST a house like this one, especially in this market! No, no, no! Selling an asset of this size requires a STRATEGIC PLAN, and that absurd $150 Million price is probably just part of that plan. This isn't so much a house sale as an offloading of an illiquid private equity investment. Heck, the listing could have as well gone to Cogent Partners!

What's the strategic goal? Obviously, to get some somebody to pay a gigantic and maximized amount of money in a very down market for a very self-indulgent and personal house. Step One: List the house at an absurdly huge price, but one still low enough so it can be taken "seriously" ... or at least pass the "smile" test. (Candy should send thank-you notes to Suzanne Saperstein and Lou Gonda for making Candy's asking price pass the smile test.) Candy can't possible expect to sell for $150 Million unless she's completely delusional (and by all reports she may be self-indulgent but she's pretty grid-iron in her approach to finances, anything but delusional). Step Two: Negotiate selling house at "steep" discount with qualified prospective buyers who make "shocking" and "bargain" offers.

Prospective buyers for this house will not be deterred from "low-balling" by the absurd offering price, but the offering price will help them justify the actual purchase price. In that sense this house is very different from a more typical house, even an expensive one (one reason not to OVERPRICE a typical house). No, that kind of person (Candy's kind of person!) is just fine offering, say, less than half of the asking price. Hoped-for Results: Buyer gets a "bargain" (hey, he tells friends, I "saved" $60 Million!) and Candy gets a lot of money (but not $150 Million). Of course, if the strategic plan is well thought out, there should be lots of other non-typical moving parts, too ... not just price.

There's no guaranty of success, just as there is no guartanty that this is what Candy's really up to. I have no inside knowledge. But I think she's setting up something like a bizarre bazaar negotiation. WARNING: Don't try this with YOUR home.

Interesting being able to view so many massive homes in the Beverly hills/park area. On one builders website-wow he must be loaded, he's one company seeems responsible for hundreds of thousands of sq ft in beverly hills alone!(www.fintonassociates.com)

Most of them are pretty awful, but I agree the Arads house (Click on: Projects-completed-top row-"Country French" Beverly Hills:21000 sq ft) is absolutely lovely. How rare to see such good taste and design asthetics in a home of this style and size!

Check it out people...

Here is another link to architects website:http://www.hablinski-manion.com/gallery.asp?pcid=12291441737089&cid=A%20%20%20Beverly%20Hills%20Residence

You can tell there isn't enough space for the house to lay out properly. That is why the wings are at an angle instead of going perpendicular to the center, etc. If it had enough land around it it would spread out with a straight center facade and then two wings attached. Instead it has had to compress itself to fit the too small lot.

G.F.Y. anonymous at 3:11 PM March 28th. I genuinely am curious if Candy needs to sell the place for money reasons. How else do you explain her trying to get this monstrosity sold at this particular horrible time?

Bc she is so rich that this terrible time is no different than any other time to her. She's fine. She's buying a huge new place. The buyer will be the same, while there are few out there there are people who literally are saying "What recession?" Hasn't affected me.

Thank you Pudenda! That old bing crosby house was lovely. I feel like bulldozing that candy ass spelling.There is so little respect for history out there in LA. Sad. I was reading a wonderful story earlier about The Garden of Allah. I was terribly depressed. So depressed, in fact, that the awful "pave paradise, put up a parking lot" song was in my head.

"...there's no respect for history in L.A. It's the City of Shallow. History doesn't exist." Actually, the only thing shallow is this ignorant remark. You might want to get up off your lazy ass and look into the history of this city. There are hundreds if not thousands of people involved in preserving Los Angeles architecture alone.

maybe NOW there is, after the fact and most everything of historical significance has already been razed. And you don't need to be so rude, either. Touchy, touchy, touchy! What's really bothering you? Is there anything we can do for you?

It is a sad fact that wherever there is economic success and growth, historic preservation suffers. I was once told by a historic house tour guide in Savannah that......."poverty is the greatest friend of preservation"........how true.

I find it FASCINATING that someone makes a very aggressive and provoking comment like, "...there's no respect for history in L.A. It's the City of Shallow. History doesn't exist." and then when someone takes them to task calls out the other person as "rude" and "touchy."

Really?

Why don't you tell us where you live anon 8:22 where there is so much reverence for history.

Trudy dear, 8:22 here. It was simply the "lazy ass" and "ignorant" portions of that comment that did not sit well with me. We can certainly have a civil exchnage about historic preservation without the anger. I don't care to disclose my geographic location because there is far too much (IMHO) stereotyping on this board based on one's location. Suffice it to say I have lived in New York, California, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Washington and Europe. Where I presently park my carcass has no bearing on this discussion. I simply prefer some level of politeness.

Dear 8:22: One can only wonder as to your depth of knowledge of New York, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Washington and Europe, not to mention wherever you are now (Michigan?). While constantly having to uproot yourself cannot help your understanding of any local history, perhaps before mouthing off about what you have obviously made no effort to research-- Los Angeles history-- and then compounding it further by stating that "most everything of historical significance has already been razed"-- you might want to do a little... research. In terms of the built environment, you could start here:

You recognize, don't you, that YOU'RE one of the people doing the geographic stereotyping, right?

It seems cowardly for you to not disclose your location. Are you afraid that someone might make maligning and even shallow and stereotypical comments about the city/place in which you choose to live in the same way you so cavalierly made your purposely provocative statement about Los Angeles?

I'm not calling you lazy or ignorant, but you seem to want to have it both ways...which is to knock down a city you may or may not have any real knowledge of but to preserve your own geographic anonymity so that you don't have to feel that particular knife at your neck.

You may be right that Los Angeles has sometimes traded in the old for the new, but this is not a situation unique to Los Angeles or even the U.S....How about Berlin? How about Shanghai? How about Hong Kong? How about Singapore? How about Sydney for that matter? Or Dubai? How about New York? There are so many urban places that have, for better or worse, placed a premium on the new rather than the historical. They can't all be Rome or Paris.

This is funny. I back tracked on the comments and discovered that all this began with an exchange between georgica pond and pedudna shenangigans (sic) and some anon must have capped on it. Interesting how we don't even know who we are commenting on, sort of like the game "telephone".

There is no standard that the house should be a big block. There a lots of big mansions with angled wings, and tons of acreage around them. It's preference of design. They could have build just asmuc if now more sq in a big massive block house. going lot line to lot line.

As for architectural history.... what was the history of the Bing House? So it was owned by someone famous...then by that definition this house is just as significant. Architectury History *which you guys are claiming to care about* of a property isn't so much in who owned it people, its in the relevance of the design and who designed it. To me it sound smore like you're saying bc it was Bing's house it should have been kept. Which, while I enjoy reading this site, don't put such significance in a celebrities house.

10:40 - Hopefully someone will have more information as to the history of the Crosby house. It is entirely possible it had a history prior to Crosby. An example of similar situation would be the estate with a 1927 Arthur R. Kelly-designed mansion in the same neighborhood. It had a 40+ year history in Los Angeles before being purchased by a magazine publisher. Now it is only known for that publisher and his parties.

PS. If the children look at the link to the story & photo of the "Crosby" house, you might notice an old comment that appears to be by one of Mama's better behaved (and therefore absent in recent months) children, E.J. He questions the validity of the photo since he believes it to be of Crosby's house in Pebble Beach. I think he is right.

11:28 - Much like many of Mama's children, people were jealous of the Spellings having enough money to buy a prime location estate and tear it down to build a monument to his success. I don't know if the Crosby house was truly landmark or beautiful..or did it become that just so people could bitch.

Arron Spelling screwed over a LOT of people in Hollywood to build this monument to his greed.

For years the cast of Gilligan's Island tried to collect some of the royalties that Arron made on re-runs of Gulligan's Island. He made hundreds of millions of dollars on the re-runs in the late 60s,70s, and 80s. He gave zero of it to the cast, due to royalties clauses deliberately left out of their contracts. Nice guy!

Arron was a total creepy dude. Don't you think he looks like a old Mr. Bean in this photo? -http://www.ultimatedynasty.net/images/aaron3.jpg

Well, 2:52, some might think that being an vulgarian, a facilitator of the decline of taste and culture, and the butt of many, many jokes ("The Manor" among them) is too high a price to pay even for money of the Spelling's sort-- there is such a thing as having money AND taste.

Re: this new article in the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-candy31-2009mar31,0,178232.story

As a Christian, perhaps one of the natives of LA can explain to me why a Jew like Candy Spelling has 180 boxes of Christmas decorations? And it's all mall type stuff, candy canes, nutcracker men? Nothing about the "reason for the season" for her. Christians decorate with nativity scenes at least. She must think it's the ultimate shopping holiday. That and her 65 areas of collections must make her the ultimate consumer of things. No wonder Tori seems so love starved.

If people truly don't understand what I mean by the L.A. shallow culture, there's no talking-to that's going to make them change their minds. I'm not ignorant or lazy. On the contrary, I've been paying attention since moving here.

About this house...well, I have been in it a few times and have seen most of the first floor (though never the attic or the bedrooms), and for those interested in a floorplan idea, here goes....if you look at the house from the front, of course, when you walk in the centered front door, you immediately enter the foyer with the double staircases. The only exit is straight forward, which leads to a hallway that runs most of the way end-to-end of the center of the house. Directly back, step down a few steps into the formal living room. Enter that room and turn left, you enter the formal dining room. On the other side of the room, you enter Aaron's library. Go back to the main hall (standing in the foyer facing the living room) and turn right, go past Aaron's library, go down the hall a bit and you enter the family room (if looking at the front of the house, it is on the right side, runs front-to-back with the bay window in back facing the yard), proceed through that room and you enter the media room (the room everyone comments about as being the "double duty" room), just behind that is the projection room. I never got to go into the room that opened on to the pool. Go back to the starting point of the foyer and this time turn left down the hall, you pass the formal dining room, and you enter into the breakfast room, and turn left into the huge kitchen. Again, I never got to go upstairs to see the bedrooms, or into the famous rooms (eBay room, doll museum, etc.), but I was told that the doll museum was in the basement as well as the bowling alley. I don't think this house is THAT bad as everyone is saying, it is a bit oversized, but I think the rooms are nice scale (seeing it in person and not just video or pics), the furniture arrangements are great for entertaining, but the problem I feel lies in the colors, styles, etc. of the actual pieces. Switch them out with current furniture and the house would be a very modern, nice house for someone who needed to live in a palace. Just my opinion though!

Hello again...I posted the April 1 posting about the floorplan for those interested. Well, I was recently in the house after a book signing event and saw into another room for the first time. It is the pool room (with the pool outside its doors). It is located down a hallway just off the screening room (you go down the hall, past the projection room, double white doors open out into the hallway). It is a nice room, bright, light, one of the best I have personally seen in the mansion (though I am partial to the living room---it is surprisingly very cozy when entertaining). Also, we went downstairs to the lower level (the staircase goes down under the one going upstairs on the right side of the foyer when you walk in), and at the bottom their is a large landing, a hallway that turns and goes to another wing of the mansion, and you step down to the pool table room. Off that was a hallway leading down the game room (with the custom Spelling pinball machine). I didn't go down to that end. The guest bathrooms on the main floor (a his and hers set up) are nice too, but large...most bathrooms that size at least have a tub in them!! LOL

Hello, I have been posting about the floorplan for those interested (see other 2 posts starting with April 1). I recently was in the lower level again and saw more rooms. You go down the stairs that curve under the stairs leading to the second story on the right when you walk in to the foyer, and at the bottom is a landing. To your left if you turn to face the stairs you came down, there is a doorway with a door opening onto a long hall leading to the end of the mansion below the family room/media room/pool room wing (the right side of the home if looking at it from the front). Did not go down to that area so do not know how that lays out. At the bottom of the stairs on the landing if you look to your right, it steps down 2 steps into the pool table room with a seating area (this room would be under the living room on the main floor). If you turn right once you step down into that room, there is a double set of doors that open into the doll museum with the doll theater and hidden door to escape in case of emergency (this room would be under the library above). If you turn left when you step down into the pool table room, there is another set of double doors that open onto a wide hall. To your left, there is a door (do not know where it leads--it was closed). To your right, a door opens into the game room with the famous Spelling pinball machine. At the end of the wide hall, a large doorway opens into the bar room, with a large couch at one end, and the bay-shaped bar at the other (the one with the round fish tank built into the wall). This room would be under the breakfast room area above. Off that, there is another set of double doors that open onto the bowling alley. First, there is a huge huge huge couch with 3 coffee tables, and you step down 2 steps onto the 2 lane alley (this room would be under the kitchen/china cabinet room on the main floor above, with the lanes running front to back of the mansion, in the front left corner if looking at the house from the front). I hope I described this so it was not too confusing. Just thought those interested who will never get a chance to peek inside might be curious!

No way in hell this house will sell for $150 million. At this rate, the owner would be spending nearly 3 million a year alone in property tax. A more realistic market value of the home w/land in this area is more of the likes of $50 million; at that may be pushing it.

I feel sorry for people who feel a need to live this way. Something obviously went wrong in their childhoods to cause this kind of greed. I doubt this queen bee can even envision how many kids can be fed, housed, and covered by insurance with $150 mil. So sad.